For two weeks my Harris college football poll ballot reflected the national consensus: Alabama, Oregon, Florida State and Ohio State. Not Sunday.

After the Seminoles’ 41-14 thumping of previously undefeated Miami on Saturday, I nudged them ahead of the idle Ducks.

Turns out I wasn’t alone. While Florida State remained behind Oregon in the Harris and coaches’ polls – those surveys, plus six computer rankings are used to calculate the Bowl Championship Series standings – the Seminoles gained enough ground in each, and enough goodwill with the computers, to jump the Ducks in the BCS standings.

Now if Oregon prevails in Thursday’s Pacific 12 showdown at No. 5 BCS Stanford, I may swap the Ducks and Seminoles again. And who knows, if two-time reigning national champion Alabama ever loses its dominant mojo, Florida State and/or Oregon could leapfrog Nick Saban’s dynasty. The teams, at least in my mind, are that close.

I’ve seen each in person: the Crimson Tide versus Virginia Tech, the Ducks at Virginia, and the Seminoles at Clemson. Considering those games only, Florida State was the most impressive, based on venue and caliber of opponent – Clemson entered the game unbeaten and ranked third.

But the poll should not be a snapshot, but rather an evaluation of teams’ overall performance to date.

Little about Virginia Tech’s season suggests the Hokies can upset Virginia on Saturday at John Paul Jones Arena. They are 0-10 on the road – Texas Tech is the only other power conference team yet to prevail on an opponent’s floor – and the last three have been by at...

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